She finished putting away the files Aaron had been so thoughtful about bringing to her and rose to her feet. “Hey, you. Feeling okay?”
He exhaled loudly and flopped down on the chair at his desk. “I’m okay. I lost track of time and worked all night. No coffee for you today. Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I don’t expect you to bring me coffee.” She really didn’t. Though she liked a strong cup or two in the morning, she rarely drank it during the day. Still, she appreciated his thoughtfulness. “I have to run out in a few minutes. I should be back in time for lunch. Did you want to meet? My treat.”
A bit of life sparkled through his eyes, and he managed a smile that seemed to cost him a great deal of effort. “I think I’m going to clear my schedule this afternoon and go home. Now that I’m sitting down, last night is starting to catch up to me.”
While she could offer to take on some of his duties, it would mean using up the part of her day she’d set aside to investigate the situation with Keith’s sister. Choosing presented no contest. Keith was her priority.
Aaron ran a hand through his hair, further beating down the tracks that were already there. “Hey, I think I accidentally gave you some of my files yesterday. Do you have those handy?”
She shook her head. “I wondered about that. None of them were mine. I just finished refiling them. You’d better be careful, Aaron. You had some files that shouldn’t leave the office. I know you have a lot going on, but that kind of mistake can ruin a career.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line and peered at her strangely. Then he dropped his gaze to focus on his computer screen. “Thanks for the advice.”
Snatches of her conversation with Jordan came back to her. He’d mentioned evidence logs, but they had to sign out files as well. She had a brief sense of uneasiness, and then she shook away that feeling. A bad night spent cleaning out his mother’s basement didn’t change who he was. Having a stalker was definitely fraying her sensibilities.
Her first deposition of the day was scheduled to begin in a few minutes. She gathered her paperwork and patted him on the shoulder. “Get some rest. I’ll bring the coffee tomorrow.”
Looking up, he gave her a curious frown, but then he shook his head, and the expression disappeared. “Sure. I’ll be here.”
Katrina had a half hour of free time after scarfing her lunch. She used that time to search the DOJ database for Savannah Shaw. It didn’t take long to find out that Keith’s sister had been convicted of three counts of vehicular manslaughter. That, coupled with charges of possession, theft, vandalism, and the more serious DUI charges, had netted her the maximum. She’d be lucky to see daylight in twenty years.
Other than a notation about an upcoming appearance in family court, Katrina couldn’t find specifics on the kids. It made sense. Records concerning minors were sealed, and that wasn’t limited to criminal charges. She would need to make a trip to Child and Family Services to find the right caseworker, though that guaranteed nothing.
She tapped her fingernail on her desk three times before she made the decision. The Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility was in Ypsilanti. It was out of her way, so she rearranged her schedule, informed Dustin of her whereabouts, and headed west.
The prison didn’t look like much from the outside, but Katrina figured that was the point. It wasn’t supposed to be a desirable place to visit. Because visits were only allowed on Sundays, Katrina walked an ethical line and used her credentials to get an audience.
Fifteen minutes later, Savannah Shaw plopped down in a chair on the opposite side of the table. A guard handcuffed her to a bar welded to the top. Katrina looked over Keith’s sister.
Dark blonde roots were slowly replacing the dull platinum dye job with something that looked far better. In addition to hair color, she shared Keith’s emerald-green eyes and general face structure. Savannah Shaw was the feminine version of her brother. The woman was about the same height as Katrina, but that was the only similarity. Savannah had generous curves that made her orange jumpsuit tight across the hips and breasts.
She blinked at Katrina twice, a scowl forming almost instantly. “Who’re you?”
Katrina extended her hand. “I’m Katrina Legato, a friend of your brother.”
In one contemptuous gesture, Savannah looked at and dismissed the proffered hand. “You’re a lawyer.”
Lowering her hand to the table, Katrina nodded. “I am. But that’s not why I’m here. Your mother visited me yesterday. She’s concerned about your children.”
Savannah rolled her eyes. “I told her to leave them be. What’s she doing now?”
“Nothing.” Katrina wondered how Savannah felt about not being able to raise her kids, or the fact that her mother had no plans to step up and take care of them. “She wanted me to tell Keith they were in the system and that they might be adopted soon. I wanted to meet you, to have the whole story before I said anything to Keith.”
A tinge of bitterness twitched across Savannah’s face. “So why do you care? Don’t tell me Keith sent you, cuz I know that’d be a lie. I bet he don’t even know you’re here.”
Katrina regarded her solemnly. “You’d win that bet. Your mother tried talking to him, but he wouldn’t listen. He doesn’t want anything to do with you guys.”
Her husky chuckle turned into a coughing fit. “Sounds right. He was an asshole from day one. I had to share a room with him and my sister. Fucker cried all the time. Probably still a whiny brat.” She sat forward, folding her hands on the table. Her nails were chewed to the quick, and her hands were lined and worn years before their time. “So what’s your story? You think if you agree to play Mommy to my bastards, he’ll stay with you? I got news for you, darlin’. You’re just another one of his pretty whores. He’s gonna make you do all sorts of degrading and humiliating things. Then he’s gonna toss you aside with the rest of his bitches. That boy is fucked in the head.”
Hearing his sister talk about him that way rankled, but Katrina wasn’t here to defend Keith’s kinky side. She brushed away Savannah’s poisonous words with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Do you have custody of the children, or does the state?”
Savannah studied her with an intensity that would have disarmed her if she hadn’t already been on the receiving end of that kind of stare. She knew better than to flinch. Several long minutes of silence passed. Finally, Savannah sat back in her chair and looking as casual as she could with her hands cuffed in front of her.
“Court date is a week from next Thursday. I’m going to voluntarily give them over. I’m doing a minimum of twenty years. I asked my mom to take them, but my bastard of a father don’t want them. He’s always hated kids. Don’t know why he had any.” She picked at the edge of the table, and there was a fragile helplessness in the firm set of her mouth.
Katrina felt a little sorry for her. “How old are they?”
Savannah’s expression softened. Her entire demeanor changed, and cracks of vulnerability showed for the first time. “Angelina is three, and Corey is eleven months. They’re good kids. They should have a good home. Lord knows I never did anything much for them.” She shook her head, a wealth of regret in the action. “About ten years ago? No. Maybe eight or nine, whenever Keith got sober, he came around and told us that if we didn’t all stop drinking, he wouldn’t have no more to do with us. I been sober for three months now. It sucks, but I guess I woulda done it sooner if I’d known I’d lose my kids.”
It took Katrina a minute to digest all that. She’d known Keith for eleven years, and she’d never once seen him take a drink. True, he’d been in the military then, and she’d only seen him when he was home on leave, but he’d never seemed intoxicated.
She couldn’t go into any of that now. Though she wasn’t sure what her next steps should be, she regarded Savannah steadily. “I’m not making any promises.” Keith hated his sister, and he wasn’t big on kids. He tolerated her nephews pretty well, but like her, he was relieved to leave them with t
heir parents.
Savannah let loose that husky chuckle again. “You lawyer types never do. Look, don’t ask Keith to take them. He don’t owe me. But you seem like a decent person. Can’t you just make sure they end up with a good family? That’s all I want.”
Katrina could do that for the sake of two innocent kids. “I’ll do what I can. Thank you for meeting with me.”
As she drove back to Detroit, she wrestled with the paths unfolding before her. If she told Keith about the situation, he would get mad at her for sticking her nose into his business. That was a given. She didn’t think he would want to punish her for it, and for that she was a little regretful. She’d rather face a spanking than his displeasure.
Was this something he really wanted to know about? His mother had tried to talk to him, and she was obviously trying to manipulate Katrina. Katrina didn’t know how much Keith’s mother had been able to say before Keith cut her off. He wouldn’t do anything for his sister’s sake. This was the woman who had made his childhood a living hell. He had been clear that he wanted nothing to do with those people.
Even so, she would follow through on her promise and ensure those kids ended up in a good home. Now that she had their names, it would be easier to track down their caseworker.
And she needed more time to think about the other thing his sister had revealed. Why hadn’t anyone ever told her that Keith was an alcoholic? Surely Malcolm knew. Did her parents? Though she could understand why Mal would keep this to himself, why had Keith never said a word? Was he ashamed, or did he want to forget he’d ever been ruled by addiction?
She couldn’t ask him about it without revealing how she’d come by the information. She simply didn’t possess the guile to mislead him like that, and moreover, she didn’t want to.
By the time she finished, most of her afternoon was gone, and she’d convinced herself to take the weekend to think about what she’d learned. She headed for home. It was his secret to tell her. She didn’t know how long she could wait, though. His lack of confidence in her stung more than any whip.
__________
Saturday afternoon, she spurned Keith’s efforts to drive her to Darcy’s house. Not only was it out of his way, having him do so would strand her there unnecessarily. If this operation went like most of them, she might not see Keith for a few days. While he intended to see her tomorrow, criminals weren’t always that obliging. They committed their crimes and revealed evidence on their timetables, not the FBI’s.
Darcy greeted her at the door, wearing a sky-blue sundress, a rosy glow, and a huge smile. “I have some great news.”
Katrina entered the house and set her overnight bag in the living room. “Don’t tell me Malcolm put security cameras all over the place here too.”
Darcy glanced around the large, open foyer. Then she went outside and surveyed the obvious places—anything with a view of the front door or driveway. “Doesn’t look like it. I guess what happens here stays here.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “No, this is better news. I’m over Chinese food. I’ve moved on to key lime pie and barbecued anything. I still have to chase it with antacid, but it’s worth it. Malcolm slow-roasted an entire brisket. And your mom sent over key lime pie ice cream. It has chunks of lime-soaked piecrust in it.”
With a laugh, Katrina followed Darcy to the kitchen. “She’s just happy to have more grandkids on the way. I don’t remember her doting on us that much. It was always, ‘Clean your room,’ and ‘Take it outside.’ She never tells my nephews to be quiet. I think she was born to be a grandmother.”
The moment she entered the kitchen, the smell of barbecued meat hit her hard, reminding her that Keith had kept her busy well past lunchtime. Her mouth watered.
Darcy pulled a roasting pan from her double oven. “Some people are. My parents greeted the news by putting their house up for sale and buying a condo in Florida. They like Malcolm, mostly because he cleared my name and they don’t know he’s a Dom.”
“You’re not going to tell them?” This surprised Katrina. Darcy’s first fiancé had been her Dom, and that information was common knowledge.
Darcy shrugged. “They never understood my relationship with Scott. I figure this is a fresh start, so I’m going to just not ever mention it. That way they’ll always like Malcolm, and I won’t have to beat my head against the wall trying to explain why their daughter needs to be whipped and spanked.”
The smell stole Katrina’s attention. She heard what Darcy said, and she understood why Darcy wouldn’t want to deal with that mess again, but she could only think about the food. Her brother was a decent cook.
“Not to change the subject, but do we have to wait for Layla and Amy before we eat that?”
Darcy laughed. “Nope. Baby is hungry, so that means dinner is served.” She set it on the counter and handed Katrina a plate. “I say we dive in and forget manners.”
The meat was so succulent it fell off the bone. Katrina stabbed chunks with her fork to load up her plate.
“I have potatoes baking in the lower oven. They should be ready by the time we’re on seconds or thirds.” Darcy grinned. “I’ve always had a healthy appetite, but I’ve seen Mal’s jaw drop several times at the amount of food I’ve been eating. I’m just so hungry. I’m warning you now not to eat every time I do. I don’t want to be the reason your pants no longer fit.”
Katrina had always been on the slender side. She’d never worried about gaining weight. In her teen years, she used to pray for weight gain just so she’d develop curvy hips and breasts. But it had never happened. Her genes dictated a flat chest.
“I’ll be okay. I skipped lunch, so I’m starving.” She settled into a place at the kitchen table and dived into the pile of meat. After she’d taken the edge off her hunger, she sat back in her chair and slowed down her intake rate. “So besides painting our toenails and watching chick flicks, what are we doing tonight?”
Darcy picked a string of meat from her plate and licked it off her finger. “I want to know how you and Keith got together. He’s so hot, and a bit of a badass if you like that kind of thing, which you apparently do. Malcolm is of the firm belief that Keith will never be serious about a woman, and it makes him sad to think his best friend in the whole world will never find love and happiness.”
Keith hadn’t mentioned loving her. He was happy, she knew, and he did love her, but she wasn’t certain he’d begun to love her as a woman yet. It wasn’t an issue she wanted to push. “You don’t consider Malcolm a badass?” Katrina’s brother might be a few inches shorter than Keith, but he bulged with muscle every bit as much as his best friend.
Darcy cocked her head to one side. “Not really. He’s kind of a geek, which I find endearing and sexy as hell. Keith seems so ruthless with everything, including protecting the people he loves. I’m very glad he never had occasion to interrogate me. That could have gotten bloody.”
Having read through the file on Darcy’s case, Katrina was familiar enough with the details to know that Darcy had been questioned about Scott’s disappearance more than sixteen times in six months. Malcolm had confided to her that Darcy hated cops, and Katrina had witnessed Darcy’s unease around Malcolm’s friends from the bureau.
She’d also watched video of Keith tearing down a suspect. He could be very intimidating when he wanted, but she couldn’t imagine Darcy taking shit from anybody. No, it probably wouldn’t have been a fun experience for either of them. “Well, it’s a good thing that case is closed with regard to you.”
Darcy frowned. “The trial is next month. I’m scheduled to testify.”
“I meant that they charged Snyder and Halter.” Discussing this wasn’t ethical. Katrina smiled and tried to change the subject. “So if I tell you how Keith and I got together, are you going to tell Malcolm? Because there are things a brother should not know about his sister.”
Darcy’s mouth tipped up at the corners. She nodded, acknowledging that they couldn’t discuss the case. Though Katrina wasn’t direct
ly involved, many of her colleagues were.
Darcy dragged her finger through the leftover sauce. “Your brother makes the best barbecue. It could possibly be a reason I'm marrying him. That, and he knocked me up. Another good reason is that he recognizes boundaries. Keeping the fact that you’re dating Keith from him violates my moral code concerning what I need to share with my Master, but the details of how you got together or any other things that fall under the heading of ‘girl talk’ are strictly confidential.”
“I don’t want to get you into trouble.” Katrina finished her brisket and pushed the plate away.
Darcy lifted her brows, her blue eyes wide with shock. “There is a difference between dominating and controlling. Malcolm is dominant, yes, but he’s not controlling. Men control women—our associations, friendships, actions, conversation—when they don’t trust them. At least that’s my interpretation. I could never be with a man who was controlling. I’m too independent and opinionated.”
All her life, Katrina had relied on others. Her opinions had never been important to her, not when faced with a strong opinion from somebody she loved. Part of what she liked about being submissive was that she didn’t have to be so independent. It was a relief to lay her worries and fears at Keith’s feet.
Then she remembered that she was keeping information about his niece and nephew from him. Surely that fell under this discretionary heading that meant it was okay to keep it to herself until she was sure about what she wanted to share.
Katrina chewed her lip. She knew her brother better than to think he would limit the kinds of conversations Darcy could have. “Sorry. I just… Keith said if Malcolm found out you knew about us and didn’t tell him that you could get into trouble.”
“I wish.” Darcy’s expression softened for a moment. Then she refocused on Katrina. “Trina, anybody in a relationship would feel betrayed if their significant other kept important information from them. You’re his sister, and Keith is his closest friend. You’re both very important to him.”
Re/Paired (Doms of the FBI Book 2) Page 24